General Motors and Chrysler are adding diesels to their U.
S. car and truck lineups, but traditional gasoline engines and hybrids are becoming so fuel-efficient that American consumers have fewer financial and performance reasons to buy them.
Diesel-powered cars are losing ground to advanced gasoline engines: They cost thousands of dollars more than comparable models with gas engines. They no longer have nearly the advantage in pulling power, at least in passenger cars. They don't deliver significantly better fuel economy. And diesel fuel costs about 36 cents a gallon more than regular unleaded.
Improvements in gasoline engines have closed the gaps in fuel efficiency and pulling power, said Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the nonprofit Diesel Technology Forum. "There is quite a competitive landscape today, compared to what it was five or 10 years ago," he said.